Push-to-talk (PTT) platforms involve providing PTT functionality (e.g., call group management, call origination, call transmittal, talk-back call termination, floor management, filtering, and the like) through PTT clients on client devices. The PTT functions may be performed by one or more servers, and communications between the client devices and the servers may be performed over a telecommunications network (e.g., a carrier network).
Mobile edge computing (MEC) is an emerging technology that enables a mobile user to benefit from low latency connectivity to application services by hosting these application services (e.g., PTT) on compute resources localized to (e.g., closer to) the user on the mobile edge (e.g. alongside a radio network element such as eNodeB (eNB) or radio network controller (RNC)). MEC is in contrast to the conventional mobile services model wherein the mobile network is used to provide connectivity to application services hosted at one or more centralized locations (e.g., in a backhaul network). An application service on the mobile edge may be a standalone service or may be augmented by a centralized backend service.
Accordingly, there is a need for a system and method for push-to-talk (PTT) in mobile edge computing (MEC).
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The apparatus and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.